BBC

A Bulgarian couple suspected of being the biological parents of Maria, the young girl found in a Roma community in Greece, are being questioned by police.

Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev are said by Bulgarian media to have several children, some of whom resemble Maria.

The girl was reportedly born in Greece. But Ms Ruseva is quoted as denying Maria was left there for money.

Maria came to the Greek police's attention after they raided the Roma camp near Farsala in central Greece.

They were initially searching for drugs and weapons in last week's raid, but noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde-haired, green-eyed, pale-skinned little girl and her parents. They found further discrepancies when they investigated the family's documents.

The couple, Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, have since been charged with child abduction. They have insisted the girl was given to them legitimately.

Maria is currently being cared for by the Athens-based charity The Smile of the Child. There have been 8,000 inquiries following an appeal to identify her, and the international police body Interpol is involved in the search for her biological family.

According to Bulgarian media, Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev recognised Maria from television reports.

They have been filmed by Bulgarian television at their home in the central town of Nikolaevo. The footage shows several children, a number of whom are blonde and closely resemble Maria.

One of the children was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BGNES as saying that the family had been in Greece and left Maria when they returned to Bulgaria.

Greek news site zougla.gr has published what it says is the identity card of Ms Ruseva and a birth certificate for Maria from a hospital in Lamia, about an hour's drive from Farsala.

The birth certificate says the girl was born in January 2009.

Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou told police Maria is four years old, but the Smile of the Child charity say medical examinations show she is more like five or six.